Reminder: Antonio Gates can still get open. Before grabbing a 19-yard pass, he had two strides on weakside linebacker Vontaze Burfect, an undrafted rookie who runs well. Gates caught six of eight passes for 49 yards.

Chargers fans told me Gates was open on the final pass play, but he wasn’t open when Rivers first looked at him. At that time, two linebackers were lurking nearby. Rivers would have had to throw him open, a dicey proposition.

On the same play, 4th-and-10 at Cincinnati’s 17, Malcom Floyd appeared to be the second option and ran a mediocre route. Setting up the interception for safety Reggie Nelson, cornerback Terence Newman gummed up the timing by forcing Floyd to take a slow outside release. The pass rush wasn’t strong, but the Bengals won in coverage across the board. Kudos to their coordinator, Mike Zimmer, who had a great final series.

Bengals pass blockers checked Melvin Ingram, who made his second start. The majority of Ingram's pass rushes came against left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who is Cincinnati’s best pass blocker. Ingram was active, making five tackles, one for a loss. He didn’t have a quarterback hurry or a sack. Shaun Phillips, the team's sack leader, had a quiet game, registering only one assisted tackle.